If there’s one thing Manu Ginobili did not like during his NBA career, it’s the game being delayed by non-human creatures. The Argentinian and former San Antonio Spurs shooting guard had his fair share of battles on the basketball court, but at least one did not have him squaring off with a fellow player.
Back in 2009, during a regular season game at home against the Sacramento Kings, a bat found itself inside the AT&T Center, threatening game officials to pause the contest until at least when the nocturnal being is controlled and taken care of.
See, Ginobili did not want his adrenaline to subside just because of some stinking bat decided to take a stroll inside the Spurs’ home court, so he took matters into his own hand, figuratively and literally speaking.
Flashing a Barry Bonds level hand-and-eye coordination, Ginobili swatted the bat with his hand when it flew by near him, knocking the creature into the ground, thus making him a bigger Spurs legend than what he already was at that point of his career.
As if what happened then was a product of a movie script, Ginobili’s showdown with the bat happened on Halloween.
As for the game, the Spurs would go on to beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-94, with Manu Ginobili posting 13 points, three assists, a rebound, a steal, and one hurt bat.
On Monday, Ginobili announced his retirement from basketball after 16 colorful and successful years in the NBA. In 1,059 career games, Ginobili averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals on 44.7 percent shooting from the field. He finished as a four-time NBA Champion, a two-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA team member, and the 2007-08 Sixth Man of the Year winner.
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